ITP Blood Disorder

ITP Blood disorder also known as Idiopathic or Immune thrombocytopenia purpura is a condition where platelets decrease excessively causing internal bleeding and bruising. Also a sign known as “petechiae” is also one of the characteristic signs when platelets decrease under the 20,000 level. They like small little red dots under the skin. They can come out in any part of the body but show more clearly in the lower extremities.

Very little people who suffer from this condition know that there are natural alternatives that are effective and have been empirically proven to work. But not only empirically, there a many studies that show that herbal and nutritional medicine IS effective in ITP blood disorder.

Many of the natural alternatives work clearly by:

Stimulating Platelet production

Preventing platelet destruction

Helping the body produce more steroids to protect against platelet reduction

Regulating the immune system so that it doesn’t reduce platelets

Any many other effects

The problem with many people who are looking for a remedy for ITP blood disorder is that they only want a substance that will help them without changing life style or diet.

Why would a person with ITP Blood disorder need to improve their diet? Most doctors would say that there is no connection with diet and low platelet counts. Actually there is much controversy that surrounds this topic.

Whether diet and life-style has something to do with thrombocytopenia is still being discussed. But in my experience, too many cases have confirmed the effectiveness in using diet and life-style in regulating platelet levels. Foods that are high in antioxidants are very helpful to increase platelets. There are certain rules in using them but they are definitely effective.

Some great foods for low platelets are:

blue berries

carrot juice

green vegetables

pomegranate juice

other

There are also a few things that need to be avoided.

the herb guarana is very dangerous in persons who have a low platelet count

Aspirin and other anti-inflamatory drugs

others

I have dedicated a large part of my time to investigate this disease because it has attacked two close relatives of mine. For this reason I have compiled a good body of information which I have made available to the public in an e-book format. The e-book is called Conquer Low Platelets.

i was diagnosed that i have ITP at the age of 7. until now that i am 20 yrs of age. i still cary this God knows why illment. but when ever i feel week, i eat camote tops and i think it works with me since after a week i feel that my sthrength is recovering. hows yours?

Kamote tops are the new leaves of sweet potato vines [usually find in the vegetable garden ! ]… said leave isconsidered vegetable in most asian countries.They are rich in vitamins and irons. I used to eat it also years ago. I

Im Currently going through Whipples Disease and GORD and i have a milion other medical problems i am 19 from Melbourne, AUS and have been fighting this sickness for 25months now, I have low platelets and my Iron is always really deadly low even though im going for blood/iron transfushions monthly. I also just found out i have High Neturpena Disease..

Can you recomend anything i can take that is not a high acid content, Please I have seen so many doctors and now starting to give up. I just want to be 19 not feeling like 80

I was diagnosed with ITP almost 4years ago, it makes me very tired at nite and i can no longer drink alcohol, not that i drank alot anyway. I have been too so many doctors and had so man blood tests over the last 4years it’s not funny. I guess I’m looking for answers about it and continually getting stone walled, if anyone has any information on it could they let me know.

I have seven year old cat suffering from the low plaetlet disorder i had given him hostacyclin-500 last year but this time he is not recovering this time, sometime he is vomiting with blood what should i do, some remedy for him

assalam-alaikum guys Alhamdullillah i cured my itp by the grace of Allah and by taking 2 tanlespoon of flaxseed daily u need to grind it in a blender and i take it after lunch Alhamdullillah my count always remains above 2 lakh 50 yhousands its almost been a year

I was having problems, big time, blood in my urin, after seeing my family practicianer is
was decided to see a hemo/ocon, Dr. months and many blood samples later, she still
does nothing, my count is at 44, it started at 57 and has been dropping since, nobody
tells me shit, many other problems, gout, arthritis, lots of pain pills and anti-inflamatories
I am a 46 yr old male, I do not smoke or drink, any more. Smoke, 8yrs now, Drink, 8months
now, I do not know what to do. Basically I am very concerned. Suggestions, I am open.

dear john why dont you give flaxseed a try it helps to raise platelet count and also helps in arthritis also it has no side effects and it is also good for kidneys but do consult a doctor before trying it

Hello, I was diagnosed with ITP over 28 years ago. I have been thru every treatment and every surgery. I went to college due to mt athletic abilities. I was told to never ride a bike, live in a 1 story house (stairs) never have a rough job. I have owned a construction business for over 15 years and I am a Firefighter. I never exceed 21k plates in any of my counts. I do not eat anything special or take any meds since I was 14. I am now 38. Effects I have noticed when my plates get even lower, stars in my eyes when looking into the corners of them. the smell of fresh ozone, mood swing (depression) Fatigue, fatigue, fatigue. All can be overcome thru state of mind. I have done it, so can you. Be aware of your illness, but dont let it consume you. You come first, your illness just tags along. Feel free to write me or share your story if you like. Wsmith48@ec.rr.com.

My daughter was diagnosed with ITP at 10 months old. She had a platelet count of 11 (11,000 per µl). She was partially on solids but still breastfeeding too, so she and I went on a gluten-free diet. Our doctor recommended this because immune issues (which ITP is) are affected by a person’s digestive system. If you can reduce the pressure on the digestive system (like a gluten-free diet does) it can really help the system to work more effectively, in turn boosting the immune system too. It worked for us. Her platelet count rose steadily and immediately as a result of the new diet. We were gluten-free for 3 months and then she got her count up to 500 (500,000 per µl) and we were fine again.

I was bitten by a black widow spider almost four years ago and have been dealing with bad blood ever since. Platelet counts have been as low as 9000 and white cells as low as 0.6 and doctors don’t have a clue. Just started rituxan and felt much better for 2 days and now the symptoms are back. Joint pain and sore eyes and fatigue, fatigue. I have been tested, tested and tested and no clues.
Tired of the no answer.
Any ideas?

Wow!, this was a top quality post. In theory Id like to write like this too – taking time and real effort to make a good article but what can I say I keep putting it off and never seem to achieve anything

my boyfriend has ITP and I never really understood what it was until he tried to explain it to me and he has had to spend alot of time in and out of the hospital because of this, of course it did stress me out because I was not able to do anything to keep him out of the hospital, I am wondering if stress can cause the platelets to go down or if it’s something that can’t be helped. I have asked him about it and I also have told him that he needs to try and stay calm and relaxed or his platelets will go down and he will end up in the hosptial again and that is the last either of us wants to happen to him.

Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before. So good to find any individual with some unique thoughts on this subject. realy thanks for beginning this up. this web site is one thing that’s needed on the net, someone with slightly originality. helpful job for bringing something new to the web!

I was diagnosed with ITP in 1999 and have 3 episodes which required hospitalization. I have been treated with the standards treatments from steroids to chemotherapy and including surgery to remove my spleen. The only natural thing that stopped my last outbreak was a cat. My platelet count dropped to 40k and my Dr. was going to put me on this miracle drug when a kitten decided to make our backyard its home. For some reason cats like me. When I played with the cats I had an allergic reaction and had to take an antihistmine. Every week that I played with the cat that my platelet count increased (56k, 82k to 210k)to where I no longer qualified to take this new drug (it dramatically increases platelet production). I think that my immune system saw the cat antigens as more harmful then my own platelets so they stopped destroying them. I don’t know if this will help anyone but my prayers are with you all.

So many possibilities. Recommend you get a blood detoxing. Lymes disease is a possibility but for that you need “unconventional testing”. Regular testing doesn’t find it always. You can follow our detox program in our ebook “Conquer Low Platelets”.

Thanks Claire. This is one of the things recommended in my ebook. Doesn’t work for all..but there is definitely a selective group of people where it really makes a difference. Thanks again for your post.

Hi John sorry you are going thru all this
There are things you can do to improve your platelets. I recommend checking for H. Pylori first. Many times this can be the culprit in older men or woman.
This is a blood test you can do.

Consider also get “conquer low platelets. It gives you a complete approach to this problem.

I also had ITP before, I had tried all medications, herbal or synthetic, my parents had already sold all their properties for me, at the end, I still undergone spleenectomy and in the pink of health today. although there are times i still get bruises whenever I’ll have a period. Let’s all pray hard it will definitely work.

That is very attention-grabbing, You are an overly professional blogger. I have joined your feed and sit up for in the hunt for more of your excellent post. Also, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!

splenectomy does help in some cases! But it is not the total solution. Again, we need to stop searching for the magic bullet and be willing to change our life-style towards a more healthy habits of eating and living for more permanent and long lasting effects.

Hi! I am new here. I m from Hong Kong. My mum is suffering from ITP over 15 years. Her platelets dropped to 25-30k. She took steroids 3pills over years. The doctor suggest her to have the micro surgery to remove her spleen. Does any of you remove the spleen and the platelets doesn’t increase? Are there any suggestions regards diets change? Does flaxseed oil and codfish oil and salmon oil help? Help please……. Helpless because ITP r not common in Hong Kong

Hi Helen
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Removing the spleen helps some people but it doesn’t guarantee that they won’t get ITP anymore. My brother had his spleen removed and even though he did a little better he still ended up in the hospital many times.

Fish oil are blood thinners. So they should be avoided when the platelets are low. In regards to diet, yes …it is crucial to change the diet to be able to get a complete response with ITP. You can get complete information by getting the e-book “Conquer Low Platelets”. It gives you all the info you need. You can get it by visiting : http://conquerlowplatelets.com Hope this helps.

What exactly is it about guarana that is dangerous? I was diagnosed with ITP back in 2010 but my count is not “dangerously” low (in the 60-80 range). Since the first of the year I have felt unbelievably fatigued, so much so that I am finding it difficult to carry on my usual daily routine. It’s hard to get out of bed in the morning. This is VERY strange for me. Coincidentally I began taking a multi-vitamin with guarana in it about that same time (I don’t even know what guarana is, the multi said it was for “energy”). I just had my count done yesterday because I recently started seeing little red patches(made up of little red/pink dots) on my torso — not itchy, just…weird looking and random. I thought it was petriciae. My platelet count came up fine at 70. Still, I have these spots on my skin, they aren’t going away, and I am so SO tired all the time. Could it be the guarana and if so, WHY? The hematologist gave me a prescription for a round of steroids, but honestly said they have no idea what’s going on and told me to go to my “family doctor” (I don’t have one).

Definitely the Guarana! Guarana is a caffeine containing herb that people use for energy and weight loss.

But many don’t know that it also inhibits “platelet aggregation” which means it prevents formation of clots by keeping platelets from sticking together…working similar to aspirin and other mild blood thinners.

I suspect it might also have an inhibitory effect on platelet production …..(but haven’t yet confirmed this one)

That being said…my brother who has ITP landed in the hospital two times before we found out that it was the Guarana he was taking.

Hello, i came across this site and wanted to post i too have itp along with lupus sle,sclerderma and raynaud’s i have been on prednisone for 8 yrs now it helps but im worried because it is such a dangerous drug, im on 5mg aday i was on 20mg but slowly tapered the doctor wanted to remove my spleen and that is a NO NO for lupus patients. i dislike doctors because they are not always right and they always want to push pills i wish i new a more natural herb or supplement to replace prednisone..
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO ALL THE ITP SUFFERS “FIGHT THE FIGHT” and know you are not alone lets all pray for each other!!! Thanks …Kim in brrrrrrrr Canada

Kim…thanks for your comment and for uplifting those who also suffer from this disease like you.

Just wanted to also let you know that there is an alternative to prednisone but that if you also have other autoimmune diseases other than ITP, then it just takes time to be able to get off of the prednisone since you have been taking it for 8 years.

I have had low platelets for about 5 years now (I am 56) They were around 50 to 60 which is ok I just bruise easily but no one warned me not to play contact sports or anything likely to involve impact injuries. I ride a motorcycle on trackdays and ski. Both of which can involve some risk of high impact crashes of which I have had several.
My platelets have dropped this year 30 down to 26 now down to 18. Doc wants to nuke my immune system with prednisone which is something I would like to avoid.
I have heard that papaya leaf juice or extract can be very good for raising platelet levels. Anyone had any experience?

Hey! I was diagnosed with ITP 2 years ago. Since my diagnoisis, I have been in the hospital about 7 times. My platelets would rise and then they would fall again. I tried steroids, but they failed to raise my count. I just want to be able to play sports and ride my bike again. Any natural things I can do to help? My count has been in the 19,000s for a while now.

I am 56 years old and worked at the World Trade Center site continuously, 12 hours a day for 3 months. I was diagnosed with CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) in 2002 with high white cell count. Was taking Prednisone and seemed to help. In 2009 my hemotologist informed me that i developed ITP also. After more prednisone treatments (120 mg) per day for 2 months, there was some improvement, but after stopping ITP and CLL returned. Next was a splenectomy, which worked for both illnesses for approximately 7 months. Next was put on Rituxin, which also works for approximately 6 months before the ITP and CLL symptoms return. Had 2 such treatments of Rituxin, no side effects first time but second treatment made me ill, but it worked for a while. Came back from hemotologist this morning and Platelets have dropped again to 92 from 104 last week. They have gone as low as 19 at one point and I was ordered to Emergency room for treatment in 2011. I have adjusted my diet and white cells are now in normal range. It is discouraging, but I keep pushing through this and trust in my doctor.

No matter what you do Joe! It is always good to use natural methods in conjunction with what you are doing. It will not interfere. You will have less relapses and better responses to your treatment. There are natural alternatives. God bless!

Hi Anastasia. Read as much as possible the older posts in this blog. You can also get a complete set of remedies by checking out my ebook at http://conquerlowplatelets.com. Detailed instruction is found there.

hi
i diagnosed with ITP in 1995 my platelets count not going more than 50000
as low had 2000 i have no way to treat myself just having blood transfusion
can some one help is there any way to make normal range without spleen removable
now platelets count is 16000

How did you find out that guarana was causing your brother’s ITP? My wife uses ZipFizz, which contains guarana seed extract. She experiences many benefits from it, but if there is something conclusive about the cause and effect relationship of guarana to ITP, we’ll have to look elsewhere for those benefits. Please ket us know.

My son Jorden diagnosed with ITP when he was in 8th grade. How is started was he had an ear ache. We took him to the Dr. he prescribed antibiotics then 6 days later he had a nose bleed. (his first ever in his life). Then next morning he showed my inside his mouth he has little red marks on his gums. He said they didn’t hurt so he went to school. That evening the little marks bigger and their were more of them. It was agreed my mom would take him to the Dr. the next morning as I had to work. That next morning the little marks were now little pools of blood that was being held in by skin. He couldn’t talk or he would pop them. The Dr. tried to send him home until the blood test came back. I told my mom not to leave, after quite a few hours of waiting she was walking in the parking lots back to the car when the nurses came running out with a wheel chair. Jorden’s platelets were at 2.

Fast forward ICU, Home School & Nurse coming to our home weekly, Dr. visits weekly, simi monthly, monthly and every 6 months thereafter for the next 2 years. Jorden missed his 8th grade graduation, his freshman year of high school.

Today Jorden is a senior in high school, he plays sports again and he is going to be a fireman. He has taken fire Tech 1&2 and is currently taking EMT classes during his senior year. Jorden has a prom date and is on track to graduate on time. I attribute Jorden’s success to our positive outlook, healthy diets, exercise, faith, lots of family support and great doctors and nurses.

For anyone with minors please reach out to the Ronald McDonald House. It was a Heaven send during my time of need. From a place to sleep other than a hospital chair, washer/dryer, gift cards to assist with gas, food and prescriptions

hi louis,
i m suffering for itp last nine months.and take all medicine and therapy but no response and my platelets count less than ten thousands.i read about ur e-book.how can i order this book.beacuse try to order through debit card but it show some error.plz suggest how i get it.

My sister went to family doctor and bloodwork done inidcated her blood platlets showing 75, then 110, now back down to 62. They told her dangerously low….she’s unable to see a hematologist right now. The family doctor seemed to think some sort of viral infection in blood but not sure. What would you suggest at this time, other than getting in to see hematologist which is not possible at this time? She’s really tired when she get up in the morning and finds it hard to stay on her feet all day at work (florist). Any suggestions? Thanks!

my friend have a problem the problem caused by the less amount of platelets in blood my friend was live in Warangal, India. i want better complete treatment for doctor’s in India plzzzzzzzzz i want help

Some doctors like to wait and see if the body will restore itself since the treatments are so invasive and drastic. I highly recommend you get her on the natural protocol found in http://conquerlowplatelets.com as soon as possible so you can prevent her from having to do anything more serious.

Yes there is and I discuss this in my ebook “Conquer Low Platelets”. The information is detailed and extensive. Also read the articles in this blog since there is a lot of information about this. http://conquerlowplatelets.com you can find the ebook.

We suspected initially due to my brother’s experience. Then I did some research and it seems that Guarana does have some effects on platelets that may be beneficial for the common man but detrimental for ITP sufferers. It affects platelet aggregation and possibly….like aspirin reduce production. I researching this last one still. Hope this helps. The information was in the medical literature which is what I use for research and not the internet. You can get a lot of crazy ideas online. I will be adding another chapter on this in the “extended Conquer Low Platelets ebook”. God bless Roger!

I AM ALSO A PERSON WHO WAS DIAGNOSED WITH LOW BLOOD PLATELETS, I WAS PLACED ON PREDNISONE TO RAISE MY PLATELET COUNT FOR PARATHYROID SURGERY, IT DID RAISE MY PLATELETS TO ALLOW THE SURGERY BUT DID NOT WANT TO STAY ON THE STEROIDS BECAUSE IT INCREASED MY APPETITE TREMENDOUSLY AND I WAS EATING EVERYTHING I COULD GET MY HANDS ON AND I WAS GAINING WEIGHT AT A RAPID SPEED, MY DOCTOR ALSO AGREED TO TAKE ME OFF FOR THIS REASON. I DID FIND A WEBSITE THAT SUGGESTED TAKING PAPAYA LEAF EXTRACT IN PILL FORM OR TEA FORM AND ALSO TAKING VITAMIN K. I ORDERED THE PILL FORM, IT WAS SAID THAT THE TEA IS BITTER IN TASTE. DON’T KNOW IF IT WAS THE PAPAYA OR NOT BUT MY PLATELET COUNT DID INCREASE, COULDN’T FIND MY TEST RESULTS TO POST THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN THE PLATELET COUNT, I AM DUE TO GO BACK IN JUNE FOR A FOLLOW UP TO SEE IF THEY ARE STILL ON THE RISE OR AT LEAST THE SAME. THE WEBSITE IS AS FOLLOWS http://WWW.HERBALPAPAYA.COM. THERE WERE OTHER WEBSITES AS WELL, I GOOGLED AND FOUND SEVERAL WEBSITES THAT OFFER THE PAPAYA LEAF EXTRACT. HOPE THIS WAS HELPFUL, GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

I TOO HAVE ITP NOW 51 DIAGNOSED AT 37 AFTER HAVING LAST CHILD HAVE GOTTEN AS LOW AS 11000 AND AS HIGH AS 137000 DONT KNOW WHY HAVE TRIED STERIODS DONT LIKE THEM AND DONT TAKE ANYMORE DR SAYS TO .HAVE WENT THROUGH ALOT OF THINGS TRYING EVERYTHING MOSTLY JUST MY FAITH IN GOD GET S ME UP EVERY DAY EVEN WHEN I DONT WANT TO .STAY VERY ACTIVE AND PRETEND IT GOES AWAY TILL I HAVE TO SEE A DR FOR SOME REASON AND HAVE A BLOOD TEST LAST CHECKED AT 56000 OH WELL.LIFE GOES ON AND I WILL KEEP SEARCHING PROBABLY GOING TO GET LOW PLATELET BOOK.

I’ve been suffering from tip for 7 years from my age of 25, now I’m 32 and my platelet drops at 2,000 (regular of 150,000-450,000).I’m taking prednisone and I’m aware of it’s side effects. This site can help me a lot. Can you send me through my email the way how I can order or purchase this book in Philippines? Presently I’m here in KSA ill be in new York on June, where can I buy the hard copy?

i’m a 58 year old male suffered with ITP FROM APP. 1999-2012. WAS TOLD IT WAS LEUKEMIA. My heart broke not for me,i cryied for my grandchildren, I WAS TOLD THIS WOULD SHOW UP IN MY CHILDREN OR THERS MY FEAVER WOULD JUMP TO 106 IN A MATTER OF A FEW SECONDS, I CARRIED ICEPACKS ICEWATER ANYTHING COLD TILL I COULD GET TO A HOSPITAL..I WAS TOLD THAT IT WASN’T A QUESTION OF BUT WHEN THAT I WOULD BE WALKING ALONG AND WOULD BE DEAD BEFORE I HIT THE GROUND. TWELVE YEARS I’M WALKING TALKING BREATHING STILL FOR THE GOD THAT HAS TAKEN CARE ME..I STILL HAVE SOME PROBLEMS ALL THINGS WORK FOR THEGOOD OF THEM THAT LOVE THE LORD AND ARE CALLED FOR HIS PURPOSE

Hi. I have recently be diagnosed with ITP. I started peeing blood one day and has sore kidneys so booked a doctors appointment for the next day. That morning i noticed bruises on my body and blood spots everywhere. The doctor sent me straight to hospital and said it was probably low platelets. My platelets were below 1,000 on testing so the gave me a platelet drip and high dose of prenisone plus 3 days of Intragam infusions. My count came up to 27,000 so they realeased me and I was to keep taking the Prenisone and have twice weekly blood test. The first test was good at around 40,000 but two days later it was 7,000 and back to below 1,000 when they checked me back in to hospital. The tried Intragram again and a IV steroid for 3 days. Once again it came up for a few days to around 40,000 but once back home within 4 days it was below 1,000 again. Removal of the spleen time. Had Platelete transfussiion during surgery as count was only 7,000 at the time and after was 76,000 was pretty excited. Next day 41,000, next day 20.000, next day 8,000 then below 1,000 again. Are now trying Rituximab but wont know for a few weeks if this works, they are weaning me off Prenisone.

I really want to find a natural way to sort out this problem, will change anything to make it right instead of taking drugs but dont know where to start. Im a 26yr old Dairy Farmer in New Zealand and have always been fit and well so this is a big shock to my Family and myself.

If anybody has and information that could help it would be very appreciated.

As I have emphasized in the ebook…everyone has to find a reason why ITP has developed in your case. In some cases in could be due to : Vaccinations, Allergens, Hormonal imbalance, gluten intolerance, infections such as H. Pylorii etc.

The herbs and protocols recommended in my ebook are great but the person needs to go to the root of the problem for permanent results.

This might take visiting an experienced health practitioner, naturopathic physician or alternative medical doctor that can screen the whole body thru different tests to find underlying problems.

I am also constantly searching for more ways to help. Many times combining the herbs with the steroids makes the treatment more effective. It all depends how long you have used the steroids. At least 56000 is not in the severely low range. I am sure the ebook will enlighten your path in many ways.

I am looking into the use of bioidentical hormones for ITP…..this is something that you can do with your medical doctor. Will let everyone know…will be creating a chapter in the extended ebook of Conquer Low Platelets about this.

Thanks for your Testimony. I have a complete chapter on Papaya leaf for low platelets in my ebook. I believe many can be helped by it but haven’t seen enough testimonials on this to be able to give a complete answer as if it will help all…maybe some. If anybody else has experience with Papaya leaf please let me know!

I am age 51, recently was diagnosed up ITP when my platelets lowered to 28, a week later they had dropped to 8. After hospital stay transfusions, they rose to 48. I’m diabetic, reading that Aspartame (which I used a lot) could cause a low platelet count, I’ve completely avoided it the past two weeks, yesterday’s platelet count now at 79!
Aspartame? The cause? Can Anyone else relate to this?

Interesting! There is a study that shows that aspartame can cause more clotting and interfered with coagulation medication. It does affect platelets but apparently by causing them to aggregate and clot more!….or by preventing clots from dissolving fast enough.

Hi I am 36 yrs old and was diagnosed with ITP in feb. I went to the er because of red spots and bruising and they told me my platelet count was only 2k. These were the only symptoms I had. They immediately put me in ICU and started IVig treatments and platelet transfusions. This went on for 2 weeks. When my counts reached 150k they let me go home. 2 days after being home I woke up with a severe headache and my skin and eyes were yellow. Back to to the er I went. There are only 3 cases in the world where people have had this reaction to IVig and yes I was the third They put me straight back into ICU and diagnosed me with hemolytic anemia and aseptic meningitis. This was march 6th. I woke up in early May. I wasn’t in a coma I was just so drugged that I don’t remember 2 months of the ordeal. I was treated with rituxin, Solaris, plasmapheresis, dialysis, hemodialysis and steroids. I stayed in a dilated induced coma basically because I was in so much pain. My kidneys and liver failed and now I have iron overload from the 74 blood transfusions I had to have. My iron count is now at 6,823 (normal is between 5-250). My last count was 200k and I’m hoping it stays up. I go weekly to ck my platelets and my hemoglobin levels. Hemoglobin At one point I think in April went down to 1.8. They told my family to say their goodbyes. I don’t want to put them through that ordeal again so any info is appreciated to keep platelets up and hemoglobin up.

I was diagnosed with ITP 25 years ago when I was 18. I was put on steroids for a year and after gaining 40 pounds and not geting better I opted to have a splenectomy. It was the best decision. I found an excellent surgeon and was in the hospital for about a week. I was able to loose most of the weight within the next year. I have had no major health problems since. I have had 3 very healthy pregnancies. I try to keep my immune system healthy thru diet and excercise, but I am not a fanatic about it. My kids bring home all kinds of sicknesses from school and I rarely get sick. I often wonder what the long term problems will be but so far so good. I am now 43, been married 20 years and have three active boys ages 13, 10 and 8. I do have to pace myself or I can over do it and get tired but no more than anyone else my age. If you have ITP dont give up. Find what works for you. I am proof you can go on living a normal life. I know what it’s like to have all the bleeding, brusing and fatigue. But I had a good oncologist and chose the right treatment for me. So dont give up and surround yourself with a good support group. You will need it to overcome this aweful, but manageable condition.

I was diagnosed with ITP about 30 years ago. Went a long time on prednisone when the UW finally got the procedure down to 3 little holes in my abdomen, chopped up my spleen, sucked it out. I did great with no medication for about 15 years when it reappeared when I was pregrnant with my son. Stayed on predinisone during the entire pregnancy and beyond. My oncolgist at the time (Brittel in Renton) was great. He had me start taking a hormone drug (wish I could remember the name) along with prednisone; it took about maybe 6-8 months and I was off prednisone and just taking the hormone. Went it for BTs every 6 months. Unfortunately, I had a falling out with the medical system (Valley Medical in Renton). They insisted I owed $50 in co-pay when I had left my co-pay at my Drs office but walked out before I was seen (after 45 minutes I pull the plug on waiting for a Dr). ANYWAY, when I ran out of the hormone medication, I ended up in ER with a count of 2 and ended up with a new oncologist. She started my on the N-plate shots which I have been on for almost 3 years. It was up and down, up down, up and down….you know the drill. Last week, after having an N-plate shot my count after 2 weeks was 469; 7 days later it was THREE. This is not the only time it has happened – the sudden plummet. Tired of the Nplate treatment – obviously after 3 years it ii isn’t doing what I need. Does anyone know of a doctor in the seattle area who still does the hormone treatment? I’m getting close to retiring and can’t afford the N-plate stuff anymore. Any help would be appreciated. Please contact me at rentonfire@yahoo.com for any helpful suggestions.

I came down with itp in Feb. of 2013, was given prednisone (100mg.) to start and immediatley my platelets went up to 200. while i was at home i came across “conquering low platelets” on the net and bought it. I have totally change my lifestyle and eating habits. I’ve been able to maintain my count at 130 so far, but my question is how long can u continue taking the recommended dosage of the herbs and vitamins. I’m affraid just like the steroids as soon as I quit taking them the platelet count will decrease. The booklet doesn’t go into the long term affects of taking the herbs and vitamins. i would appreciate it much if Louis can give me any info my concerns. Thank you